Obama Makes Wal-Mart an Example to Push Energy Efficiency

May 9 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama held up Wal-Mart Stores Inc. as an example as he seeks public support for an
energy and environment initiative that’s been met with
skepticism from business groups and Republicans, who say it will
kill jobs.

Speaking at one of the company’s outlets today in Mountain
View, California, Obama announced a set of plans to promote
energy efficiency and solar power use, including upgrading
government buildings.

Wal-Mart’s commitment to renewable energy shows there are
“cost-effective ways to tackle climate change and create new
jobs,” he said. “It will be good for the economy long-term.
And if we don’t, that will be bad for the economy” because of
the impact of global warming.

Obama is seeking to make addressing climate change part of
his legacy in office. This week the administration released a
National Climate Assessment that supporters and critics say lays
the groundwork for new efforts to curb emissions blamed for
global warming.

The president took a dig at Republicans in Congress who
have expressed skepticism about climate change.

“Climate change is real, and we have to act now,” he
said. “Inside Washington, we still got some climate deniers who
shout loud, but they’re wasting everybody’s time on a settled
debate.”

Obama’s Agenda

Obama’s strategy includes promoting greater use of
renewable energy and making buildings and vehicles more
efficient. Solar panels were recently installed on the roof of
the White House, and Obama routinely mentions home appliance
energy-use improvements and stronger fuel-efficiency standards
for cars and trucks on his list of accomplishments.

The U.S. could save $1 trillion by refitting all U.S.
buildings -- government, commercial, industrial and residential
-- with more energy-efficient systems, said Mike Lamach, chief
executive officer of air-conditioner maker Ingersoll Rand Plc,
who Obama invited to today’s event.

Buildings consume 40 percent of energy in the U.S., he
said, making them an obvious focus for conservation. Air-conditioning and heating systems are the biggest consumers of
that energy with 40 percent followed by lighting at 20 percent.

‘No-Brainer’

“It’s a no-brainer, with the technology that exists today,
to go in and retrofit buildings,” Lamach said. “It’s good for
the environment, it’s good for U.S. energy independence, and
more and more it’s saving companies money.”

Obama selected the Wal-Mart store in the heart of Silicon
Valley for his remarks because the company is committing to
double the number of onsite solar energy projects at its U.S.
stores, Sam’s Clubs and distribution centers by 2020, according
to a White House fact sheet. That pledge is part of the
Bentonville, Arkansas-based company’s previously announced goal
to produce or procure 7 billion kilowatt hours of renewable
energy by the end of the decade, according to the fact sheet.

In highlighting Wal-Mart’s efforts on energy, Obama picked
a company that hasn’t always aligned with the administration or
its supporters. Wal-Mart has come in for criticism from unions,
which have historically supported Democrats, and has said it’s
neutral on Obama’s push to raise the minimum wage. The company’s
political action committee and executives direct the majority of
their campaign contributions to Republicans.

Political Contributions

Wal-Mart’s PAC has donated $576,000 to federal candidates
in the 2014 election, of which 53 percent went to Republicans
and 47 percent went to Democrats, according to the Center for
Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group that
tracks campaign giving.

Jim Walton, the youngest son of Wal-Mart founder Sam
Walton, is a major Republican donor, contributing $200,000 to a
super-political action committee that aided Republican Mitt
Romney’s 2012 campaign for president.

Alice Walton, Sam Walton’s youngest child, also gave
$200,000 to a pro-Romney super-PAC, while also giving $25,000 in
November to a super-PAC that’s urging Democrat Hillary Clinton
to run for president.

Christy Walton, the world’s richest woman and the widow of
Sam Walton’s other son, donated $50,000 in 2011 to a super-PAC
that promoted Republican Jon Huntsman’s White House bid. While
her donations skew Republican, she has donated to some Democrats
including Obama in September 2008 and U.S. Senator Cory Booker
of New Jersey in 2013.

Choosing Wal-Mart

Groups supporting organized labor are criticizing Obama’s
choice of Wal-Mart, saying it sends a mixed message about his
commitment to raising wages for the lowest-paid U.S. workers.
Obama is pushing Congress to increase the U.S. minimum wage to
$10.10 an hour and has praised companies including Costco
Wholesale Corp. and the Gap Inc. for increasing their minimum
pay without the government requiring them to do so.

A fundraiser Obama attended last night for the Democratic
National Committee was co-hosted by Yahoo! Inc. Chief Executive
Officer Marissa Mayer, who is on Wal-Mart’s board.

Clinton, a possible Democratic candidate for president in
2016, used to serve on Wal-Mart’s board. Clinton and her
husband, former president Bill Clinton, lived in Arkansas when
he was the state’s governor.

A Wal-Mart worker named Charmaine Givens-Thomas planned to
attend last night’s fundraiser and give Obama a petition signed
by about 200,000 people asking him to meet with Wal-Mart workers
to hear about their working conditions and pay.